Azalea plant named ‘Spring Picotee’

ABSTRACT

A new and distinct cultivar of  Azalea  plant named ‘Spring Picotee’, characterized by its dark green-colored leaves that do not abscise during the cooling and forcing periods; uniform and outwardly spreading plant habit; freely branching habit; freely flowering habit; relatively rapid flowering response; large red purple and light pink bi-colored flowers; hose-in-hose flower form; and good postproduction longevity with plants maintaining good flower substance for about 26 days in an interior environment.

Botanical designation: Rhododendron hybrida.

Cultivar denomination: ‘Spring Picotee’.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Azalea, botanically known as Rhododendron hybrida, an evergreen greenhouse-forcing type Azalea, and hereinafter referred to by the name ‘Spring Picotee’.

The new Azalea is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Alva, Fla. The objective of the breeding program is to create new Azalea varieties having uniform plant habit, profuse and uniform flowering response, dark green foliage, good foliage retention during the cooling and forcing periods, resistance to Cylindrocladium and excellent postproduction longevity.

The new Azalea originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor in January, 1995, in Alva, Fla., of a proprietary Azalea selection identified as code number YB-0920, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with the Azalea cultivar Prize, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 3,795, as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Azalea was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination in a controlled environment in Alva, Fla., in June, 1997.

Asexual reproduction of the new Azalea by terminal cuttings taken in a controlled environment in Alva, Fla. since September, 1997, has shown that the unique features of this new Azalea are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The new Azalea has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, daylength and/or light intensity without, however, any variance in genotype.

The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of ‘Spring Picotee’. These characteristics in combination distinguish ‘Spring Picotee’ as a new and distinct cultivar:

-   -   1. Dark green-colored leaves that do not abscise during the         cooling and forcing periods.     -   2. Uniform and outwardly spreading plant habit.     -   3. Freely branching habit.     -   4. Freely flowering habit.     -   5. Relatively rapid flowering response; plants begin flowering         about 32 days after cooling treatment.     -   6. Large red purple and light pink bi-colored flowers.     -   7. Hose-in-hose flower form.     -   8. Good postproduction longevity with plants maintaining good         flower substance for about 26 days in an interior environment.

In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Alva, Fla., plants of the new Azalea differed from plants of the female parent selection in the following characteristics:

-   -   1. Plants of the new Azalea had hose-in-hose flowers whereas         plants of the female parent selection had single flowers.     -   2. Flowers of plants of the new Azalea were red purple and light         pink bi-colored whereas flowers of plants of the female parent         selection had red and light pink bi-colored flowers.

In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Alva, Fla., plants of the new Azalea differed from plants of the male parent, the cultivar Prize, in the following characteristics:

-   -   1. Plants of the new Azalea had hose-in-hose flowers whereas         plants of the cultivar Prize had double hose-in-hose flowers.     -   2. Flowers of plants of the new Azalea were red purple and light         pink bi-colored whereas flowers of plants of the cultivar Prize         had dark reddish pink-colored flowers.

Plants of the new Azalea can be compared to the plants of the cultivar Jewel Box, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 12,056. However, in side-by-side comparisons conducted in Alva, Fla., plants of the new Azalea differed from plants of the cultivar Jewel Box in the following characteristics:

-   -   1. Plants of the new Azalea were less vigorous than plants of         the cultivar Jewel Box.     -   2. Plants of the new Azalea and the cultivar Jewel Box differed         in flower coloration.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS

The accompanying colored photographs illustrate the overall appearance of the new Azalea. These photographs show the colors as true as it is reasonably possible to obtain in colored reproductions of this type. Colors in the photographs may differ slightly from the color values cited in the detailed botanical description, which accurately describe the colors of the new Azalea.

The photograph on the first sheet comprises a side perspective view of a typical flowering plant of ‘Spring Picotee’.

The photograph on the second sheet is a close-up view of typical flowers and leaves of ‘Spring Picotee’.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

The aforementioned photographs and following observations and measurements describe plants grown in Alva, Fla. with three plants per 15-cm containers, in a polypropylene-covered shade house during the winter and early spring and under commercial production conditions. During the production of the plants, day temperatures ranged from 13 to 37° C. and night temperatures ranged from 0 to 26° C. Plants were pinched at planting, pinched a second time about twelve weeks later, and then pinched a third time about twelve weeks after the second pinch. After sufficient flower bud development, plants were cooled at 3 to 5° C. for about four weeks to break flower bud dormancy. Plants were subsequently forced into flower under commercial production conditions in a polyethylene-covered greenhouse. Plants used for the photographs and description were about one year old.

In the following description, color references are made to The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart, 1995 Edition, except where general terms of ordinary dictionary significance are used.

-   Botanical classification: Rhododendron hybrida ‘Spring Picotee’. -   Commercial classification: Evergreen greenhouse-forcing type Azalea. -   Parentage:     -   -   Female or seed parent.—Proprietary Rhododendron hybrida             selection identified as code number YB-0920, not patented.         -   Male or pollen parent.—Rhododendron hybrida cultivar Prize,             disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 3,795. -   Propagation:     -   -   Type.—By terminal vegetative cuttings.         -   Time to initiate roots.—Summer: About five weeks at             temperatures of 24° C. Winter: About six weeks at             temperatures of 24° C.         -   Time to develop roots.—Summer: About nine weeks at             temperatures of 24° C. Winter: About eleven weeks at             temperatures of 24° C.         -   Root description.—Fine, fibrous, and white in color.         -   Rooting habit.—Freely branching. -   Plant description:     -   -   Plant form and growth habit.—Perennial, evergreen; uniform             and outwardly spreading plant habit; broad inverted             triangle; moderately vigorous growth habit. Densely             foliated. Uniform and freely flowering habit with numerous             hose-in-hose flowers per plant.         -   Branching habit.—Freely branching; about three or four             primary lateral branches develop after the initial pinch             (removal of terminal apex); numerous secondary and tertiary             branches develop after the sequential second and third             pinches.         -   Plant height, soil level to top of flowers.—About 24 cm.         -   Plant diameter, area of spread.—About 37 cm.         -   Lateral branch description.—Length: About 21 cm. Diameter at             base: About 5 mm. Internode length: About 2 cm. Strength:             Very strong. Texture, young: Pubescent, fine brown hairs.             Texture, mature: Woody; pubescent, fine brown hairs. Color,             young: Close to 144A. Color, mature: Close to 165A.         -   Foliage description.—Arrangement: Alternate, single. Foliage             retention: Very good foliage retention on plants of the new             Azalea that have been in a box for six weeks during the             cooling treatment. Length: About 4.3 cm. Width: About             2.5 cm. Shape: Mostly elliptic. Apex: Cuspidate to             mucronate. Base: Attenuate. Margin: Entire. Venation             pattern: Pinnate. Texture, upper and lower surfaces:             Leathery, tough, durable; pubescent. Color: Developing and             fully expanded foliage, upper surface: Darker green than             147A. Developing and fully expanded foliage, lower surface:             Close to 147B. Venation, upper surface: Darker green than             147A; towards the base, close to 147A. Venation, lower             surface: Close to 146A. Petiole: Length: About 7.5 mm.             Diameter: About 3 mm. Texture, upper and lower surfaces:             Pubescent. Color, upper and lower surfaces: Close to 146B to             146C. -   Flower description:     -   -   Natural flowering season.—Spring after sufficient cool             period. If forced, plants typically flower about 32 days             after a four-week cooling treatment; relatively rapid             flowering response. Flowers persistent.         -   Flower arrangement.—Flowers arranged singly at terminals             with usually about two to three flowers per apex; freely             flowering habit. Flowers face upward to mostly outward.             Flowers rotate and star-shaped.         -   Flower appearance.—Hose-in-hose flower form with a single             whorl of petals and a single whorl of petaloids (transformed             sepals); red purple and light pink bi-colored flowers.         -   Fragrance.—None detected.         -   Flower diameter.—Large, about 8.1 cm.         -   Flower depth.—About 2.75 cm.         -   Postproduction longevity.—Good postproduction longevity;             under interior conditions, plants maintain good flower             substance for about 26 days.         -   Flower bud (before showing color).—Length: About 1.3 cm.             Diameter: About 7 mm. Shape: Ovoid. Color: Close to 146A to             146B.         -   Petals/petaloids.—Arrangement: Hose-in-hose flower form; one             inner whorl of about five imbricate petals and one outer             whorl of about five imbricate petaloids (transformed             sepals); petals and petaloids fused at the base. Petaloids             variable in size and shape. Length, petals: About 4.7 cm.             Width, petals: About 3.5 cm. Length, petaloids: About             2.7 cm. Width, petaloids: About 2.1 cm. Shape, petals and             petaloids: Beyond fused base, roughly spatulate with rounded             apex. Margin, petals and petaloids: Entire; undulate.             Texture, petals and petaloids, upper and lower surfaces:             Smooth, glabrous; velvety. Color, petals: When opening and             fully opened, upper surface: Towards the margin, close to             63A; center and towards the base, close to 62B to 62C. When             opening and fully opened, lower surface: Towards the margin,             close to 63A; center and towards the base, close to 62C to             62D. Color, petaloids: When opening and fully opened, upper             surface: Towards the margin, close to 63A; center and             towards the base, close to 62B to 62D. When opening and             fully opened, lower surface: Towards the margin, close to             63A; center and towards the base, close to 62B to 62D.         -   Sepals.—No sepals observed, all sepals transformed into             petaloids.         -   Peduncles.—Length: About 1.7 cm. Diameter: About 2 mm.             Angle: Mostly upright. Strength: Flexible; strong. Texture:             Very pubescent. Color: Close to 144A.         -   Reproductive organs.—Androecium: Quantity of stamens per             flower: About seven. Anther size: About 3 mm by 1 mm. Anther             shape: Oblong. Anther color: Close to 79A. Filament length:             About 2.8 cm. Filament color: Close to 155D. Pollen amount:             Moderate. Pollen color: Close to 158A. Gynoecium: Quantity             of pistils per flower: One. Pistil length: About 3.5 cm.             Style length: About 3.3 cm. Style color: Close to 63A.             Stigma shape: Rounded. Stigma diameter: Less than 1 mm.             Stigma color: Close to 63A. Ovary color: Close to 147A;             heavily whiskered.         -   Seed/fruit.—Seed and fruit development have not been             observed. -   Weather/temperature tolerance: Plants of the new Azalea have been     observed to be very tolerant to rain and wind. Plants of the new     Azalea have been observed to tolerate temperatures from 0 to 38° C. -   Disease/pest resistance: Plants have not been observed to be     resistant to pathogens and pests common to Azaleas. 

1. A new and distinct Azalea plant named ‘Spring Picotee’, as illustrated and described. 